Unique party ideas New York City

I was having dinner last week with a new friend of mine, and we started talking about our weddings. The Jacobson wedding was nearly 5 years ago, and as I’ve written about here on this blog, it was a blast to plan – mainly because my then-fiancé and I wanted to make it as unique as possible.

How did we make it a non-cookie cutter affair? Simple – we added as many personal touches and flourishes as we possibly could. Rather than just let the venue event planner do her thing, we actively engaged in every aspect of the affair, to put our fingerprint on as many aspects of the special day/night as we could. We brought in special dishes from our favorite NYC eateries (which I personally ran around the city in the hours beforehand to procure), had framed photos distributed throughout the venue, and even threw a karaoke party afterwards in honor of our mutual love for the activity (which is also how we met!)

As with our wedding, the same principle applies when planning corporate party entertainment for the office in NYC or anywhere. If you want to make the experience a special one, which will me memorable and impactful for your group of employees, clients or brand enthusiast, then you MUST put in the time, thought and effort beforehand to make it personalized. Whether it’s a holiday party, team building event, corporate retreat or simply a fun night out, tailoring the function in such a way accomplishes a number of things. These include:

• Ensuring the event is more enjoyable
• Making your attendees feel special
• Helping create an environment where everyone feels welcome
• Letting the group know you care

I’m really, really big on this. During the planning stage of every one of my trivia events for corporate groups, I emphasize the importance of customizing the experience as much as possible – not only to your specific audience, but your specific goals as well. What are the ways – big and small – which we can make the overall event fit this group perfectly? I know this requires time and effort on the part of you, the organizer – however, instead of having a vanilla event which feels like it’s fresh out of the box, take a moment and realize that there are many factors within your sphere of influence, which you DO have the opportunity to control if you so choose:

• Timing – When will the event be held, not only to maximize attendance but to make it appropriate for your specific guests?

• Venue – Not just the location, but the style, atmosphere, and overall “feel”

• Arrangement – How is the physical space laid out? What type of furniture is being used, and where? What kind of overall attendee experience are you going for?

• Content – No one knows your group like you. What kind of group entertainment will they respond to best? Will they like something passive, or interactive? High-energy, or low-key? Competitive, or subdued? There’s many levers at your disposal here

• Impact – How important is this event? Are you simply saying “thank you” to your staff for a job well done, or seeking to retain loyal clients in a highly competitive marketplace? Knowing this beforehand will help you make your decisions planning every aspect of the party

I know that this level of planning and customization isn’t for everyone. From personal experience, just last month I lost a potential client who felt that her time would be better spent doing other things, besides helping craft a customized office party – she wound up taking her group to a pizza making class. No effort involved other than plunking down her credit card. I’m sure it was fun, and from an execution standpoint, certainly easy to arrange. But as with anything else, you get what you put into it. Was this activity RIGHT for her specific group/objectives? Did it convey planning, and meet the attendees’ expectations? Was there any impact at all, beyond a fun time playing with pizza dough?

I can’t answer that. However, I CAN look back at my wedding example, and say with absolute certainty that because of the extra work my wife and I put forth to make the occasion unique, the result was immediate: people said it was one of the greatest, most fun, and most memorable weddings they had ever been to. Not the most lavish, not the most expensive, but the most memorable.

Now THAT’s something we wanted our attendees saying after our event. Wouldn’t you want to hear the same after your corporate party?